SCRANTON - Junior Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) scored a game-high 15 points to lead four double-digit scorers for The University of Scranton men's basketball team, as the Royals pulled away early in the second half in a dominant 73-48 win over DeSales on Monday night at the John Long Center.
With the win, Scranton moved to 6-2 overall, while DeSales fell to 3-4 with the defeat.
To start, offense was tough to come by for both teams, as the Royals opened an 18-10 edge on the visiting Bulldogs with 9 minutes to go in the first half. Here, freshman Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) nailed a three, giving Scranton their first double-digit lead of the night at 21-10 with 8:41 to go in the period.
From there, the closest DeSales came to the Scranton lead the rest of the half was eight points (on several occasions), as the Royals kept the Bulldogs at bay for the entire half. Ending the period on a 7-0 scoring run, Scranton went into intermission leading by 15 at 36-21, as they held DeSales to just eight made shots in the first half (none of which was a made three-pointer).
Up by a sizable margin entering the second half, Scranton quickly put DeSales away early in the frame, as the Royals opened up their biggest lead of the game five minutes into the period at 47-26 after senior Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) made a lay-up.
The 21-point deficit was far too much for DeSales to come back from the rest of the night, as the Royals coasted to a 25-point win in their final home game of the 2019 portion of their schedule.
Overall, Bailey led the way for the Royals in the scoring column with his 15 point effort. Elsewhere, senior Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and Braunstein finished with 11 points, apiece, with DeVerna pulling down six total rebounds. Braunstein, meanwhile, did not miss a shot on the night, going 3-for-3 from outside the arc (he finished the night 4-of-4 from the floor).
Rounding out the top performers on the night was Mancuso, who posted his third double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The senior forward has now scored in double-figures in each of the Royals' eight games to date, as well.
On the defensive end, Scranton forced DeSales to shoot just 32.1 percent from the floor (17-of-53) and 20 percent from three-point range (5-of-23). The Royals, who outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 39-35 margin, also forced 18 DeSales turnovers, as well.
The University of Scranton men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night, opening the 2019 HoopsMIA D3 Holiday Shootout in Miami, Florida. There, the Royals will take on Bates at 8 p.m. in a game that will be played at Barry University.
--ROYALS--